Following a special request by the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM Georgia) for an Open Source Intelligence Analysis and Countering Disinformation training, our Dutch partner Clingendael implemented a half-day workshop on the topic on 13 March 2024. Almost 30 participants from multiple EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) civilian missions attended the workshop.
The training focused on building a common understanding of disinformation and fake news and explaining how they influence public opinion, organisational policies, and the behaviour of state and non-state actors. Equipped with this knowledge, the participants will be able to work towards the highest possible degree of digital security in their professional and personal environments.
The participants were analysts, open source specialists, advisors and media experts coming from four different EU CSDP civilian missions – the EUMM Georgia, the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) in Ukraine, the EU Capacity Building Mission (EUCAP) in Somalia and the EUCAP mission in Mali (EUCAP Sahel Mali). Among the topics most valuable to them was countering the confirmation bias and other socio-psychological processes leading to higher susceptibility and recognising AI-generated (visual) content.
In addition, training topics covered truth decay globally and in Europe, various types of open-source intelligence and its tools, identifying credible sources of information, following the traction and impact of social media campaigns and knowledge management. In the end, the participants transferred the theoretical knowledge into practice with a case study, including a fictitious disinformation campaign targeting EUMM Georgia.
